Evangelist Cry Teaching
Ministry
Huger, South Carolina
Dr. Levi Howard Wright, D.Min.
“EXERCISING SPIRITUAL
AUTHORITY OVER THE DEVIL”
TEXT: ST LUKE 10:17-19: "And the seventy returned again with
joy saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.
And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over
all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you."
ASSOCIATED TEXT: EPHESIANS 6:12 "For we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual
wickedness in high places."
Introduction
Today, I want to talk to you about “Exercising Your Spiritual
Authority Over The Devil.”
The authority of the believer is unveiled more fully in the Book of
Ephesians than any other epistle written to the churches.
We have authority over evil spirits through Jesus Christ. We need
to understand what Paul is trying to say to the church.
We need to realize that we have "Spiritual Authority" through
Jesus Christ.
Our spiritual warfare with the Devil should always be with the
consciousness that we have authority over him, because he is
already a defeated foe.
The Lord Jesus Christ defeated him for us over 2000 years……
when He Hung….Bleed ….and Died on Mount Calvary Cross.
However, the Spiritual Authority of the Born Again Believer….. is
an aspect of the Christian walk that very few believer know any thing
about.
Some believers think that Spiritual Authority over the Devil belongs to
only a few chosen people to whom God has given special power.
But, I came by to tell you today, that "Spiritual Authority" belongs to
all of the children of God.
We received the Spiritual Authority when we were Born Again
into the Family of God.
When we were made new creature in Jesus Christ, we inherit the
Name of the Lord Jesus Christ and we can use our Spiritual
Authority against the enemy which is the Devil.
The devil does not….. want Christians to learn about the this
authority.
He want to continue to defeat us in anyway that he can. That is why he
will do anything he can to keep you from learning the truth about our
Spiritual Authority.
He know that when we exercise our God given authority his heyday
will be over.
In Ephesians 1:3 it says, "Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who had blessed us with all spiritual blessing in
heavenly places in Christ. “
This mean that in Christ all spiritual blessing belong to
us.
Spiritual Authority belongs to us whether we realize it or not. But just
knowing this is not enough. It is knowledge that is acted upon that will
bring about results.
We must exercise our “Spiritual Authority”.
Knowing that we have power…… and not using it will not accomplish
any thing. We must exercise and use the God given Authority that
God has blessed us with.
Illustration: I read a story about a man who was found dead in a
small, shabby room that he rented for $3 a week. He had been a
familiar sight on the streets of Chicago for about twenty years, always
dressed in rags and eating out of the garbage cans.
One day neighbors became concerned, because they had not seen
his for two to three days and they found him dead in bed.
An autopsy revealed that he had died of malnutrition, yet a money belt
found around his waist contained $23,000.
This man lived in poverty, peddling news papers for a living, yet he
had money. He could have lived in the finest hotel in town instead of in
the little rundown room.
He could have eaten the best food instead of garbage. But he did not
use what belonged to him.
We need to know what belong to us.
We need to know what Spiritual Authority that we have and we must
start exercising it.
Jesus said in St John 8:32, "And ye shall know the truth, and the
truth shall make you free."
In Hosea 4:6 God saided, "My people are destroyed for lack of
knowledge, because thou hath rejected knowledge."
Our Families and Churches are actually perishing…… because
of the lack of Spirit Wisdom and the Revelation of Knowledge.
It do not take a discerning eye today to see that many churches are in
Spiritual Trouble and Great Distress.
In the news papers we read where churches are ….. being
Vandalized and Burned to the ground.
We read about the Homosexual Movement in the church.
We read about the Legalizing of Murder through Abortion and
Baby Killing has been accepted in many churches.
We read about Adultery has been Legalized and Accepted in
many churches through Multiple Marriage.
Many preacher cannot preach against Adultery…… because they
themselves are living in Adultery.
Many preacher cannot preach against Incest..…. Child
Molestation..…. because they themselves are commenting all
kinds of…. Perverted and Illicit Sexual Act.
We hear about brethren who are threatening one another’s lives
and using Profanity against one another and all of this is take place
in the church.
Many church members have……. Forgotten about God and His
Devine Laws.
Many Church members….. Love for God has Waxed Cold.
Many Church members have…… Let Their Lights Go Out.
Many have….. Lose Their Seasoning and Their Salt has lose its
Savor.
Many have….. Pull Off the Armory of God and now they stand
open to all of the Fiery Darts of Satan.
Many have….. Ungirted their Loin which was once girted with
the Truth.
Many have….. Pulled of the Helmet of Salvation.
Many have….. Taken off the Breastplate of Righteousness.
Many have…. Casted aside the Shod which Prepared the Feet
with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace.
Many have….. Thrown down their Shields of Faith…… which is
use to fight off the Fiery Darts of the Devil.
And so many have simply just forgotten about …… their
Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.
A Lot of Folks….. They don’t take time any more to…..
read God’s Word and apply….. it to their lives.
The church is in a sad condition. We are so far gone down the
road of sin and pleasure, and worldliness that I wonder if we will
ever get back on the right track.
Oh yeah!! I can hear Jesus saying…. "Behold I give unto you
Power and Authority to tread on Serpents and
Scorpions, and over all Power of the enemy: and
nothing shall by any means hurt you."
In Isaiah 54:17 the Prophet Isaiah said….. ”No weapon that
is formed against thee shall prosper; and every
tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou
shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the
Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord”.
In 2 Corinthian 10:3-8 the Apostle Paul said….. [3] For
though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the
flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds;) [5] Casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalteth itself against the
knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every
thought to the obedience of Christ; [6] And having in a
readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is
fulfilled. [8] For though I should boast somewhat more of our
authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not
for your destruction, I should not be ashamed:
What Jesus is saying here….. Is that I have given you
Authority to tread on the heads of serpents and
scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy.
When speaking about serpents and scorpions, Jesus is talking
about the power of the evil, demons and evil spirits.
We need to realize that we have power and authority over them.
God is the source of our authority.
He is the power behind our authority.
WHAT IS AUTHORITY?
Authority is delegated power.
Policemen who direct traffic during the rush hour…. just raise
their hand and the cars will stop.
These men and women…… don’t have the physical power to
stop the vehicles…. if the drivers chooses not to stop.
And they don’t use their own strength to stop traffic…… they
use the authority that is Delegated and Invested in them by the
government they serve.
People recognize their authority and stop their cars.
My Brothers and Sisters…..the very day and hour…. that we were
Borning Again…. and Redeemed…. and Washed in the Blood of
the Lamb of God…. The Lord Jesus Christ Delegated and
Invested us with Spiritual Authority and Power to conquer the
devil.
In Ephesians 6:10 the Apostle Paul tells us…. "To be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of His might."
That means that we can step in front of the devil, hold up our
anointed hands and tell him to stop and come no closer.
We need to use our Spiritual Authority.
In I John 4:4 the Apostle John says, "Ye are of God, little
children and have overcome them in the world: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
SATAN…. He is in the world, He is the god of this world and the
head of principalities, powers, and the ruler of the darkness of
this world.
But the power that is in you is greater than the power in the
world, because the power that backs our authority is greater than
that which backs our enemies.
HOW SHOULD WE DEAL WITH THE DEVIL?
As long as Satan can keep you in unbelief or hold you in the
arena of reason, he will whip you in every battle.
But if you hold him in the Arena of Faith and the Spirit, you
will defeat him every time.
He want argue with you about the Blood of Jesus.
He want argue with you about the Power in the Name of Jesus.
He afraid of the Blood of Jesus and he Tremble at the Name of
Jesus.
We need to stand up and exercise our authority in Jesus
Name.
When Peter was at the Gate called Beautiful he did not pray for
the lame man; he demanded that the lame man be healed (Acts
3:6)
In Acts 3:6 ..… “Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but
such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth rise up and walk.”
When you exercise your Spiritual Authority Satan have
to obey.
In John 14:13-14 the Lord Jesus Christ saided……. "And
whatsoever ye shall ask in my Name, that will I do that the
Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in
my name, I will do it.
"THE KEY TO EXERCISING YOUR SPIRITUAL
AUTHORITY”.
The key to exercising spiritual authority lay in Jesus being raised
from the dead.
Ephesians 1:20-23 "Which he wrought in Christ when he
raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in
the heavenly places. Far above all principalities, and power,
and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not
only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath
put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over
all things to the church Which is the body, the fulness of him
that filleth in all."
In the mind of God…… we were raised when Christ was raised.
When Christ sit down, we sat down, too.
All authority that was given to Christ belongs to us through Him
and we must exercise that authority.
We help Jesus by carrying out His work upon the earth.
The Word of God tells us to conquer the Devil.
In fact Christ cannot do His work on the earth without us!
You see, the truth that Paul is trying to bring out here in
Ephesians is that Christ is the Head and we are the Body.
What if the Body said, "I can get along without the Head. I
don’t need the Head? No, your body cannot get along without
the head.
And what if the Head say, Well, I can get along without the
Body.
I don’t need the rest of my Members. I can get along with out
the Hands and Feet. No, you cannot …..
When Jesus arose from the dead, he saided "All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matthew 28:18)
The word power means authority.
The authority was delegated to the church.
Christ is the Head and the Church is the body.
The head cannot exercise any authority anywhere except
through the body.
Jesus gave us the same authority that he had.
In Mark 16:15-18 Jesus saided…….. “Unto them, go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved but he that believeth not shall be
damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my
name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new
tonuges; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink and
deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the
sick, and they shall recover."
When you lay hand on the sick you are exercising authority over
Sickness and the Devil.
In James 4:7 James says…."Submit yourselves therefore to
God, Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
The scripture does not say that the devil will flee from Jesus…….
it says resist him ….. and he will flee from you.
FLEE…… means to run from as if in Terror.
In Matthew 18:18 the Lord Jesus Christ saided…. "Whatsoever
ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
In James 5:14-15 it says….. "If any sick among you? let him
call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him,
anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of
faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he
have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."
In Ephesians 6:10,11 the Apostle Paul says….. "Finally, my
brethren , be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil."
The different parts of the Armor of God symbolize Spiritual
Attitudes the believer must maintain.
By wearing this Armor, the believers will become protected and
undefeated in their ministry for Christ as the stand up holding
their Spiritual Authority.
All you need to be concerned about is keeping your armor bright
and well secured about your body.
The Girdle of Truth…. represents a clear understanding of
God’s Word. Like a soldier’s belt, it holds the rest of the armor
in place.
The Breastplate of Righteousness….. has a two fold
application: it represents Jesus as our Righteousness…. and
we must put him on First. It also and shows…. our Obedience
to the Word of God.
Our Feet are Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel of Peace.
This represents…. a Faithful Ministry proclaiming the Word of
God.
The Shield of faith……. Represents a covering for the entire
body. It represents ….. our complete safety under the blood of
Christ, where no power of the enemy can penerate.
The Helmet of salvation….. represents our Hope of Salvation.
The Hope of Salvation is they only helmet able to protect the
head in these days of turning from the truth.
The Sword of the Spirit….. represents the Word of God. This
shows that the Word of God is to be used Offensively.
All of the other parts of the armor are mainly Defensive, but
the Sword the Word of God is an active weapon.
All that Satan has stolen from us…….
We have the authority to reclaim……
We have the authority to take it back…..
Tell Satan To give you back your Children.
Tell Satan To give you back your Marriage.
Tell Satan To give you back your Stolen Finances.
Tell Satan To give you back your Health.
Tell Satan…….To give you back your Joy.
Tell Satan To give you back your Peace.
Tell Satan To give you back your Love and
Compassionate Spirit.
Tell Satan To give you back your Humble and
Forgiving Spirit.
Tell Satan To give you back your Faith.
Tell Satan To give you back your Deliverance and
Victory.
Tell Satan To give you back your Testimony.
Amen..Amen…Amen
